Friday, October 19, 2012

The website of The Academy of American Poets has a
special section devoted to Halloween. It features poems about ghosts, haunted
houses, vampires, and the underworld. It even includes suggestions for poet
costumes.

Friday, October 12, 2012

One of the things I remember most about the autumns of my
childhood is the scent of burning leaves. I miss that today. The following poem
is based on my memory of a time I spent with two of my cousins at my
grandparents’ house. We raked up a pile of autumn leaves and sat on wooden
crates watching—and smelling—the leaves burn at dusk on a cool October day.

﻿

AUTUMN FIRE

By Elaine Magliaro

Two tall maple trees grow

in front of my grandparents’ house.
In late October
they shed their golden crowns.
When the fallen leaves
curl up like little brown bear cubs,
we rake them into a pile
at the side of the street.
As dusk arrives
Dzidzi sets our harvest afire
with a single match.
We sit on wooden crates
at the sidewalk’s edge,
watch the brittle leaves
blossom into golden flames,
smell autumn’s pungent breath.
From the pyre summer rises,
a small gray ghost,
and drifts away
into the darkening sky.

Declaration of
Interdependence
would be an excellent book to use in a middle grade classroom to spark a
discussion about this year’s presidential election, voting and voting rights, electoral
votes, and choosing a candidate—and a great way to integrate poetry and social
studies!

Here’s one
of the poems from the book:

Make Your Ballot Count

By Janet Wong

Darken the circles completely

(neatly, not outside the lines).

If you don’t know what to do

ask the helpers (follow the signs).

When you punch the holes, be firm

(no worm-like hanging chad).

When your vote is done,

your vote is gone.

A wrong vote? That’s too bad.

A wasted vote: so sad.

BOOK GIVEAWAY: I have three
copies of Declaration of Interdependence (kindness of Janet Wong) to give away. If you’d like to have a chance to
win a copy of the book, all you have to do is to leave a
comment on this post. I’ll enter the names of all those who comment into a drawing and
announce the names of the winners next Friday.

About the blog: This community is dedicated to exploring
topics raised in DECLARATION OF INTERDEPENDENCE: Poems for an Election Year by
me (Janet Wong). In this book, you'll find topics such as liberty, the
election, voting rights of kids, how to choose a president, the electoral vote,
and more. Thanks for stopping by, and please jump in with your comments.
Whether you're 9 years old or 90, we want to know what you're thinking!

Friday, October 5, 2012

I wrote the
first draft of the following animal mask poem last month. I kept fiddling with it over the
weeks. I felt it needed a couple more lines—but hit a wall. Then, when I was in
bed the other night, two lines just popped into my head.

Here is my
most recent draft of that poem--which is told in the voice of migrating
geese:

About Me

I worked as an elementary school teacher for more than three decades and as a school librarian for three years. I also taught a children's literature course at Boston University from 2002-2008. I served on the advisory board of the Keene State College Children’s Literature Festival from 2006-2008 and as a member of the NCTE Poetry Committee from 2009-2012. I am now retired and write poetry for children. "Things to Do," my first children's book, will be published by Chronicle Books in February of 2017.